However cold a woman was, she would still want to retaliate when made unhappy.
“Get lost!” Ma Da Jun brushed off his hands, looking impatient.
“You won’t regret this?” Ling Han slowly said.
“Haha, what can you do to me?” Ma Da Jun felt unreasonably tickled. This young man actually dared to threaten him.
The other people in the shop too looked as if they were watching a comedy. Was this young man a spoiled young master from some clan? However, even if he was the son of the clan head of either one of the two Great Clans, he would still not be qualified to stand against a medium level alchemist of the Yellow Grade.
Ling Han only smiled, and turned towards Liu Yu Tong.
A feeling of despise flashed through Liu Yu Tong’s heart—was he going to ask her to take action again? However, she only heard Ling Han say, “Help me shout loudly ‘You’ve put too much Copper Valley Sand!’ Do it three times, the louder the better.”
What did that mean?
Liu Yu Tong’s beautiful eyes widened, but when she saw the confidence on Ling Han’s face, her heart trembled and she couldn’t help but do as he told her, “You’ve put too much Copper Valley Sand! You’ve put too much Copper Valley Sand! You’ve put too much Copper Valley Sand!”
She was a person from the Element Gathering Tier, so her shout was like a lion’s roar.
“You’re both crazy, chase them out of here!” Ma Da Jun furiously said to the two guards in the shop.
“Peng!” A loud noise echoed out, as if something had exploded—any alchemist would be able to tell that this noise was caused by an exploding furnace, something that every alchemist would experience.
“Tong, tong, tong, tong!” A series of footsteps was heard from upstairs. Very quickly, a white-haired elder appeared at the top of the staircase, and shot right in front of Liu Yu Tong like an arrow, excitedly asking, “How do you know that I’ve put in too much Copper Valley Sand?”
The elder’s figure still had some traces of suffering from a furnace’s explosion: his brow, beard and hair were all partially burned and half his face was blackened with ashes; his clothes were likewise in disarray, covered in singes. Being intently stared at by such an old man, the odd feeling within Liu Yu Tong’s heart could be imagined.
But what caused her greater surprise was the silver emblem hanging on one side of the elder’s chest. That was the sign of an alchemist, and silver represented… Black Grade! One emblem represented low level.
This elder was a low level alchemist of the Black Grade!
Goodness, this kind of existence, even in the great clans of the imperial city, would be considered a revered guest. Even the Clan Head of her Liu Clan, faced with the other, would have to very politely address the other as “Grandmaster”.
But now, this “Grandmaster” was actually looking at her with a fawning gaze, his face filled with the desire to seek knowledge. How would Liu Yu Tong not feel odd?
She couldn’t help looking at Ling Han. How many other mysteries was this young man hiding?
Chapter 7
Translator: _Dark_Angel_ Editor: Kurisu
“Pu!”
Seeing this scene, everyone in this medicine shop could not help exhaling sharply in shock.
Even if there were some who did not know Grandmaster Zhu He Xin, they could tell from the silver emblem hanging on his breast that he was a low level alchemist of the Black Grade.
Black Grade…!
To the common people, this was an indescribably noble identity that could be compared to the high-ranking court officials of the empire! It was even more noble a status than a mayor of a city enjoyed. But someone like this, a Grandmaster, displayed such an expression just because of one word… how could they not be shocked?
And the cause of everything was a young man.
How was this possible!
Many people were driven mad. This fact was something they couldn’t accept, even if they shattered their heads!
Ma Da Jun particularly looked quite aghast. This Grandmaster Zhu was an important personage in Heaven’s Medicine Pavilion branch in Rain Country. He actually wasn’t even able to see such a person normally. He had only heard of some of the other’s affairs through rumors. [1]
So how could he not be shocked, seeing this expression on the Grandmaster’s face?
Could it be that this brat was not here to cause trouble? Were the medicinal plants he named real?
Ling Han sniffed a little, and said, “Well, you’re quite clever, making a few changes to the formula for the Wind and Fire Pill, using Purple Back Bear Pill, Thousand Shred Cane and Black Rock Powder to replace a few of the more valuable ingredients. In this manner, there would not be much difference in the medicinal effects, yet production cost could be greatly lowered.”
“How did you know?” Zhu He Xin suddenly turned around and looked at Ling Han in shock, asking in a rough voice. This was his secret! He had planned on publicizing it only after he had succeeded, so as to give a good shock to some of his old friends and rivals!
Ling Han’s smile widened, and he said, “Naturally, I used my nose to sniff it out.”
Are you a monster? You found out just by using your nose? Pill formulae were an extremely valuable item, and no alchemist would easily reveal their formulae to others. To an alchemist, It was something as important as martial arts skills to a warrior!
The problem was, even Zhu He Xin himself had not yet successfully completed his research on the improved medicinal pill formula, but Ling Han could analyze the formula just by using his nose! How could Zhu He Xin not be completely shocked by this?
“Your improved formula is feasible, but Copper Valley Sand is too strong, and the merging point is too high. So no matter how well ground it is, there will still be remnants within the completed pill, which will affect the quality of the pill. You can try using the teeth of Raging Flames Leopard as a replacement,” Ling Han suggested. In his previous life, he had casually corrected a few people, and they later went on to become Grandmaster-level Alchemists.
Zhu He Xin immediately started calculating in his heart, muttering, “Raging Flames Leopard’s elemental alignment is fire, which just happens to neutralize the Yin alignment of the Black Rock Powder, and when reaching a specific high temperature, will melt easily, so there won’t be any remnants in the medical pill… wonderful, truly wonderful! Why didn’t I think of that?”
The old man was dumbfounded. Looking at Ling Han with a fierce gaze, he immediately said: “Young friend, please accompany me upstairs, and allow me to receive you,” of course, the reception part was false. He wanted to sneakily hoax him into revealing a few more pill formulae.
From what he’s seen, Ling Han should be an heir to some influential family well-versed in alchemical arts.
Ling Han smiled, but said, “I can’t!”
“Why not?” Zhu He Xin became frantic. This boy was very possibly a walking encyclopedia of pill formulae!
“Someone told me to get out,” Ling Han said in a deliberate tone, glancing at Ma Da Jun.
“Putong!” Ma Da Jun fell onto his knees. At this moment, he really wanted to cry but had no tears.
How should he have known that Zhu He Xin would treat Ling Han this way? Had he known, he would have even respected Ling Han as an elder! Now what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t stop the ugly expression on his face from showing.
The other people in the shop were all watching and shaking their heads in their hearts. Had Ma Da Jun been slightly more polite in his speech and not so forceful in his attitude, he would still have a way out now.
He had brought this onto himself!
Zhu He Xin immediately turned his head, his wrinkled face showing a fearsome anger.
How could he not be angered?
As an alchemist, the one thing he sought in his entire life was to raise his own level in the arts of alchemy and obtain more pill formulae. Now, here was an obvious “Encyclopedia of Pill Formulae”, and that g
uy actually asked him to get lost? Did he bore some hatred towards him?
“Fool!” He shouted in anger, “What’s going on here? Explain to me!”
Ma Da Jun wanted to die; under the interrogation of Zhu He Xin, he did not dare not to answer, so he just recounted the incident that happened previously while stammering. Although he did not attempt to distort the facts, the insulting words he spoke to Ling Han were naturally not repeated. He wasn’t that much of an idiot.
“What great authority you have!” Zhu He Xin immediately gave him a hearty slap, causing Ma Da Jun to spin around on the spot three times before finally stopping, completely silly from the beating. “You haven’t heard of them so that means they don’t exist? Should all the hundreds of thousands of medicinal plants you haven’t heard of be removed from this world then? Let me tell you, these five medicinal plants indeed do exist!
Violet Lotus Grass can be found in Eaglewood Valley, Blue Branch Fruit can be found in one of the valleys in Hundred Linked Mountains, Hundred Year Vermilion Bamboo grows in areas of extreme Yang, Red Leafed Potato is found underneath volcanic ash! Only Rotted Leafed Dried Tree Roots is rarer, it can only be found underneath the old roots of a tree that has rotted for more than one hundred years!”
“I was wrong! I was wrong!” Ma Da Jun kept apologizing in panic. What else was there to suspect if even Zhu He Xin himself had said so? He stretched out his hand and slapped himself, saying, “I shouldn’t have been conceited, I shouldn’t have behaved like a snob!”
Zhu He Xin once again turned to Ling Han, and said, “Young friend, many apologies, many apologies.”
He suddenly started, because he recalled that before he left his master, he had heard his master mention a particular formula. That was a medication used for healing injuries inflicted on the Spirit Base, and it required the five types of medicinal plants that Ling Han had wanted to buy.
That time, his master had sighed with regret and said that although this formula did not require to be refined into the form of a medicinal pill, the effects were unexpectedly excellent. Unfortunately, possibly due to passage of time, only the names of some of the main ingredients were known, yet the actual method of creation was long lost.
As such, it left a very strong impression on him, and now he had suddenly recalled everything.
Could it be that Ling Han was buying these medicinal ingredients to concoct the Element Heart Recover Spirit Powder?
The old man couldn’t help the increasingly rapid beating of his heart. If he could get this formula and burn it as an offering to his late master, then his esteemed master would feel happy in the afterlife!
“Young friend, the medicinal ingredients you’re buying, could it be that you want to concoct-”
“Element Heart Recover Spirit Powder,” Ling Han nodded, and truthfully said, “My Spirit Base has been slightly injured.”
“Pu!”
Ma Da Jun immediately puffed in shock. Damage to the Spirit Base was fatal to any martial artist; from what he knew, there was no way to completely recover from it! But Ling Han’s words seemed to show that coming up with a remedy for it was a piece of cake for him!
Liu Yu Tong’s eyes brightened as well. She was Liu Clan’s princess, and although she herself was not an alchemist, she knew that there were a lot of extremely valuable medicinal pills, like the Permanent Moon Pill, that could heal injuries to the Spirit Base.
The problem was, the value of the Permanent Moon Pill was indescribably high. Even the Liu Clan would need to sacrifice colossal wealth to get merely one of them… and they might not be able to buy one even then!
Ling Han, ah, Ling Han, how many secrets are you hiding?
She was getting more and more curious about Ling Han. Now, even if Ling Han said that he didn’t want her as a follower anymore, she reckoned her personal curiosity would make her stay.
[1] ED/N: It’s unclear whether the Yellow grade alchemist guy is surnamed Zhu or Ma. Sometimes raws say Zhu , sometimes they say Ma , and yet they clearly refer to the same person… Ma appears more often, especially in the previous chapter (fifty-fifty in this one) and was first, plus while this Zhu is different than the higher-ranked alchemist’s surname, it has exactly the same pronunciation, including the tone, hence it is possible that author confused their surnames and even then made a typo or something.
Chapter 8
Translator: _Dark_Angel_ Editor: Kurisu
“Young friend, please take a seat!” Zhu He Xin politely invited, displaying extreme solicitousness, without showing any arrogance typical of a Black Grade alchemist. “I can guarantee that within five days, no, three days, I’ll have the medicinal ingredients that you require delivered to you.”
“Good!” Ling Han nodded. In his last life, his position was at the absolute summit, but he was weak now, so he might as well befriend a couple more people and extend his social network.
Meanwhile, for a small character like Ma Da Jun, a small punishment was enough. He would not lower himself to the same level as him.
Zhu He Xin was delighted and hurriedly led Ling Han and Liu Yu Tong to an elegant study on the third floor.
“If I may ask, who is young friend’s master?” the old man asked.
“I have no master, I’m self-taught,” Ling Han said. In his last life, he had visited many powerful authorities of alchemical arts and mastered everything. In the end, he formed his own faction, and became the greatest alchemist in history.
Zhu He Xin naturally did not believe him. Ling Han was so young—how was it possible for him to have such a deep knowledge of alchemy? However, he was very impressed with Ling Han, and had the intention to make him join Heaven’s Medicine Pavilion. Thus, he asked him numerous questions to examine Ling Han’s skill level.
Ling Han calmly answered all his questions. He was a Grandmaster Alchemist; whether in the past or in the present, who could compare to him in the field of alchemy? As their conversation continued, the leading role gradually fell into his hands; he occasionally caused Zhu He Xin to rack his brains in ponder, and the old man’s face became more and more respectful.
There was no seniority in academics; whoever has the ability becomes the teacher.
In the beginning, the old man kept addressing him “young friend”, placing himself on a higher position, but very quickly, he changed his manner of address, and addressed Ling Han as “fellow alchemist”. In the end, with his forehead beaded with cold sweat, he couldn’t help standing up and respectfully standing at Ling Han’s side to listen closely to his teachings, as if he was an apprentice. It was just like when he used to be taught by his esteemed master…
In his heart, Ling Han had already reached a very high position. He even had a kind of feeling—if only considering theory and insight, Ling Han had far surpassed his own master!
“Grandmaster, may I follow by your side, and continue to listen to your teachings?” When Zhu He Xin said this, Liu Yu Tong was almost shocked to death. But after she carefully thought it over, it seemed to be the natural order of events.
However, if this was known by the other Great Clans in the imperial city, she was afraid that everyone would die of envy!
This was an actual Black Grade Alchemist! Although he was only a low level one, the title of Black Grade was more than enough, wasn’t it?
Liu Yu Tong was astonished, and her resistance to the idea of being Ling Han’s follower decreased slightly—even a grandmaster alchemist like Zhu He Xin was begging to follow Ling Han, so what did she have to complain about?
Ling Han shook his head, and said, “At this moment, I have no intention to take on any disciples.” In truth, Zhu He Xin’s talent in the field of alchemy, in his opinion, could only be considered ordinary. In the past, he had taken on three disciples, and all three of them were exceptionally talented.
Zhu He Xin only felt that it was a pity, and furthermore fully realized that Ling Han refused because his natural talent in alchemy was ordinary, therefore he was not qualified to bec
ome his disciple. He too felt that this was natural. After all, Ling Han’s knowledge and skill in the field of alchemy was at too high a level, one which he was only able to admire and look up to from afar. To become the other’s disciple was indeed too much to hope for.
Liu Yu Tong was dumbstruck that Ling Han had actually refused!
He refused!
This person was an actual low level Black Grade alchemist, and as long as Zhu He Xin agreed, even the imperial family of Rain Country would fall over themselves to meet him, and maybe would even gift him with a princess’s hand in marriage. However, Ling Han had actually refused him without much consideration!
This guy… was really incomprehensible.
“However, if you encounter any trouble with understanding something, you can still come to the Ling Clan to look for me whenever you like,” Ling Han said.
“Many thanks, Grandmaster, many thanks, Grandmaster!” Zhu He Xin repeatedly raised his clasped hands in Ling Han’s direction, his face revealing the utter joy he was feeling.
Liu Yu Tong felt speechless in her mind. If this scene was seen by others, they would definitely be so shocked that their eyeballs would fall out of their sockets! A person with the noble status of a Black Grade alchemist was actually performing the salutations of a disciple in front of Ling Han, feeling honored merely because of being able to visit him!
“En, then I’ll take my leave,” Ling Han said.
“Let me see you off, Grandmaster!” Zhu He Xin quickly said.
“Oh, right. Yu Tong, did you bring any money with you? Help me pay for medicine in advance,” Ling Han turned towards Liu Yu Tong and said.
Liu Yu Tong, of course, now knew that this medication was intended for Ling Han himself and not for her illness, so she couldn’t stop her lips from twitching, thinking that this guy really knew how to make the best use of everything. He had just taken her in as a follower and now he was aiming for her purse…
“No need, no need!” Zhu He Xin hurriedly waved his hands. The alchemical knowledge he heard from Ling Han today was invaluable; how could he bear to take Ling Han’s payment for the medicinal ingredients? “Great Master, please do allow me to express some of my gratitude by waving the payment.”
Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao c1-1294 Page 7